


King

by tcourtois



Category: Football RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3203756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tcourtois/pseuds/tcourtois





	King

“You aren’t…you aren’t disappointed at all?” I asked, sprinting after Manu, his legs were longer than mine even though I was over 6ft tall, and nearly met him in height. He had always walked fast, even when he was calm. Right now he seemed calm, almost too calm for someone who had just come in 3rd place for the Ballon D’Or.

“Are you?” he retaliated.

“No.” I swallowed, brushing off his question. I was disappointed for him, I cared about his career a billion times more than I would ever care about mine. I would have cried if it had been him unable to go to the world cup, or if they had lost in the final. His achievements meant so much more than anything I could ever achieve, maybe it was because I loved him selflessly, more than I would ever love myself, or anyone or anything else around me. “I was barely in contention for women’s player of the year, not with Nadine in the running. I will never be Hope Solo’s level either.”

“You’re the greatest goal keeper in the Bundesliga and you know it, I know it, and FIFA know it.” He dragged me into his arms then, and pressed a kiss against my hair, on the top of my head.

“Nu-uh. You’re the best goal keeper in the Bundesliga, and the rest of the world, and I won’t hear anyone say otherwise.” I looked up at him, he had a few inches only more than me in height, but he was that comfortable boyfriend height, where I could look up at him, and I could press my head against his neck.

“We’re very good at motivating each other…” he laughed.

“I’ll admit that I am a tiny bit disappointed that I didn’t win. I had a very good speech planned. I was going to say that even though they want to make us play on a stupid plastic pitch at the World Cup, I am still going to have the tournament of my life. Then when Blatter said ‘good luck’ I would have said ‘thanks, I’ll try not to break my leg on the crap playing surface’ then I would have sassed off of the stage.” Manu laughed at me as I explained my scheme. I had prepared that to go along with my acceptance which had a million thank you’s and was basically dedicated to him. I wouldn’t be the goal keeper I am now if I weren’t for him, dragging me out in all weathers to play on the grass pitch behind our house.

I could reel off a million reasons why I loved Manu, but to list them all would be impossible.

“I had one planned too. I was really nervous about it, I’m almost glad that I didn’t win it. I’m not as cool at Cristiano. “He didn’t take himself very seriously, and blushed as he said that he wasn’t very cool, I found that cute.

“You can read it to me later. Although, I’m not sure it will live up to what Pep said about you. Did you mention him in it? Did you mention Jogi?!”

“Stop interrogating me! I will read it to you later if I feel like doing so…I may not want to think about what could have been.” I grabbed his hand then, having been able to tell by his tone that he was more upset about not winning than he was letting on. He was definitely putting up a brave front. I admired him for his ability to do that, but thought that maybe he needed to let some of that emotion out.

“How about when we’re done with the party we can steal a bottle of champagne before we go back to our room, you can drink that for courage and then we can read each other our speeches, sound like a deal?” I spoke softly, squeezing his hand gently as I drew back from his arms. I looked around us, people were starting to file off into the side room where the party was going to be held, and I thought that we should be joining them.

~

“Manu why are you wearing nothing but your pants?!” I asked, bursting into laughter as I emerged from our en suite bathroom, he had tucked into the champagne without me and seemed to be a little more than merry as a result.

“You need to imagine the audience in their underwear to give a good speech.” She gave me a giddy smile as I walked over to him.

“Right whatever, wait… do I have to do the same for you?” I asked.

He nodded.

I took my notes out of my clutch bag that I had thrown them to the bottom of.

I skipped a few of the cards, throwing them behind me.

“Hey I wanted to hear it all!” he protested.

“Well you can’t, those parts were boring, and I’m getting to the part about you.” I cleared my throat, throwing him a look that told him that I wanted him to be quiet and listen to me carefully. “This award would mean more to me, if it were presented to my boyfriend. Most of you know who that is…” I swallowed hard and went quiet for a moment before continuing. “I would not be the player stood before you today if it were not for Manuel Neuer. When I met Manuel I was playing in the second tier of German footballer as a very miserable right back. I did not feel that my position suited me, and I was often ridiculed for my height, the tallest right back in the league. It wasn’t until I met Manuel Neuer that I realised that I should play in goal. On our first date he forced me into his gloves and fired penalty kick after penalty kick at me until I was saving them…this took several hours.” He laughed at that part, and I wanted to slap him playfully with the cards, but resisted. “He encouraged me, and told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be, but from that moment on, I wanted nothing more than I wanted to be a goal keeper. A few short years later and I am now his opposite, Bayern Munich’s goal keeper, from obscurity to the top of the table. I would still be nothing if I hadn’t met him, so Manu…this is really, well…yours.”

“You can’t give me your trophy.” He laughed.

“I know, because I didn’t win it you idiot. Wait…so you wouldn’t have given me your Ballon D’Or?”

“Maybe to hold…” I did hit him with the back of my note cards then, across the thigh, and he sprung up from where he had been sat on the edge of the bed. I flopped down to where he had been, and pulled my dress off, dragging the zipper down before I was able to rid myself of the clingy material.

“You have the stage…”

“The only real part I had about you in here doesn’t feel significant anymore, not in comparison to yours. I had a lot about the World Cup, and how it made me feel like a king…” he started to read from his notes properly then, after the word ‘king’. “But no one is able to make me feel like a king like my girlfriend. She lifts my spirits when I am at my lowest. I wasn’t what I am now before I met her, she says that I improved her, but really, I was not the best goal keeper in the world when I met her, but now…I am a king under her control.”

“That’s….that’s really sweet Manu.” I grinned at him, wondering if that was all.

“Every king needs a queen.” He said walking over to me. I tried to ignore the fact that he was only in his pants. “I thought that I should probably make you my queen sooner rather than later just in case you got to the World Cup and run off with a Canadian.”

“Well…I do love maple syrup.”

“NOT AS MUCH AS NUTELLA!” He said in horror.

“No Manu, never as much as I love Nutella.” I covered my mouth to mute the giggle that was escaping.

He then fished a small box out of his jacket pocket.

“You weren’t going to…” I couldn’t quite get the words out.

“Propose to you in front of the World’s media in my acceptance speech? Oh yes I was. It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t win because let’s be honest I wouldn’t have been able to get the words out properly, I would have been a babbling mess and everyone would have laughed at me the way they’re all laughing at the face Cristiano made. But I have to know, will you marry me?” He opened the box as he asked the question.

The answer was an easy one. I couldn’t describe in words how much I loved Manu, but I could show him in actions, and planned to do that every day until we parted.


End file.
